Another Way to Die
by Claerwen
Summary: In this world, the vampires and Quileute wolves fight one another, disgusted by their differences. Humans are caught between them, siding with the werewolves, and led by King Swan. The war can't be stopped except perhaps by a lion...and a lamb...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The world we humans live in today is hell. A living nightmare. It seems odd that God actually 'blessed us' with life, and gave us this world to inhabit. This world was a wonderful, cheery place. That's what the legends say. That is the past. War and hell are our present and future. This world, and the creatures that live in it, define life as a struggle for power, domination, survival. Everyone has their own hope and goal, everyone tries to make a mark on this world God gave us. Everyone and everything.

Some people live in this harsh reality, letting it chew up their insides and they spit it out in anger. But other than that, some few see the world as the serene and harmless place God meant it to be. Some people who live in this world, realize that _hope _really exists. They push their inner essence, calmly letting it consume the harsh reality. Few live the way God wanted us to live. Harsh few.

In this world, everyone knows of the vampires and werewolves. The endless struggle for domination, power, and survival. God created three types of creatures with full, developed minds: vampires, humans, and werewolves. And where do we humans fit into this?

We are pushed aside, the first prey of the vampires. It is our few, callow technologies that are still developing that may have the power to destroy vampires. And so, because of our potential, the werewolves sided with us.

At first, it was a secret. Humans lived peacefully in their villages, unaware when a child or two turned up dead, because of loss of blood. But soon, vampires became bolder, and humans got smarter. That is when werewolves started taking form. Vampires despised the wolves, and swore to hunt them all down. The werewolves were our allies, our friends. And the antagonistic vampires fought against us. It appeared, then, that there was no solution. To the humans and werewolves, the vampires had to be destroyed to ensure the safety of human life. To the vampires, werewolves had to be killed so they could get to their food source, the humans.

And then, in a blink of an eye, the war started. There was no way for anyone, even a vampire, to calculate how many lives --undead or human-- went to waste. How many minds screamed in terror.

We were once civilized people, living in fantastice buildings now only rumored to exist, driving amazing cars. All this modern technology, this rich lifestyle, disappeared in a mere five years. Some came to believe a new era was formed. And so, we were pushed back into ancient fortresses and castles, starting new lives.

Thousands, maybe even a million, vampires rule an entire side of the country we are left in. Armies were formed, and with more vampires, there became more wolves. It is not only the wolves who fight, but the humans who have discovered new, helpful technologies that fight alongside them too.

Decades of war passed, and kingship was passed to Charles Swan, after his brother James was taken by the vampires. As soon as he was crowned, he married to enable a sure heir to the throne. However, his wife Renee bore him a daughter, not a son as was expected. But King Charles loved his daughter as was, and sent his wife and child away to one of the reticent towns far, far away from war. Where his wife, Queen Renee, would hide her and her daughter's identity until she turned eighteen.

But after seventeen years of hiding, Renee mysteriously disappeared, leaving her daughter Isabella alone, and unaware of her status in royalty. No one knows how Renee disappeared. Perhaps it was voluntary, she was so sick of being in hiding. Perhaps the vampires had taken her. King Charles had summoned for his daughter to come live with him, but secretly so word would not leak out to the vampires, especially not to the Volturi.

It was the Volturi who were rumored to be the leaders of the vampires. A secret organization of well-gifted and talented creatures, led by mysterious leaders. I spoke of hope in this devastating war, and there was hope. Legends also spoke of vampires, one coven, who found their alternative to human blood. Vampires who controlled their thirst for humans, and fed on animals. But that was a rumor, a rumor no one believed not anymore.

And so, Isabella went to move in with her father, facing the harsh reality of this world for the first time. Happy to be away from her preppy boarding school, but shocked to see the real world. King Charles did everything in his efforts to keep it a secret, setting out for his daughter to stay privately in the castle, known to only a few. To give her private lessons on magery and the technology of this world.

Isabella Swan was a complacent young girl with curling brown hair that contrasted well with her pale skin. She was mature for her age, a fitting Princess. Perhaps her only flaw was that she was not born a boy, and the line of royalty was somewhat now destroyed. But her father loved her so; to him, she was the next thing to a real seraph. An angel.

But both sides of the war kept dealing with things that weren't part of the war, and it still goes on everyday as it was destined to be. No one could bring the war to an end unless one side falls completely. Not even the strongest werewolf, the thirstiest vampire, the smartest human. Not even the strongest magic could complete this. Perhaps even God had left the war to our hands. No one.

Except for perhaps a lion.

And a lamb.


	2. Another Way to Die

_I know the player  
With the slick trigger finger  
For Her Majesty  
Another one with the golden tone voice  
And then your fantasy  
Another bill from a killer_

_  
Turned a thrill into a tragedy_

_Another girl with her finger on the world singing?  
Another gun thrown down and surrendered  
Took away your fear  
Hey  
Another man that stands right behind you  
Looking in the mirror_

_A door left open  
A woman walking by  
A drop in the water  
A look in the eye  
A phone on the table  
A man on your side_

__

Someone that you think  
That you can trust  
Is just another way to die

**Another Way To Die** by **Alicia Keys** **ft. Jack White**

_And so the lion fell in love with the lamb._

I gasped, those ten words ringing through my head with incessant verbato, pain gashing through my hands. I sat up in bed, looking for the pain in my hands. My hands were gripping the blanket so firmly that my knuckles were blue in the dim moonlight creeping through the curtains covering my balcony.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."

What did that mean? Ever since I had moved in with my father, I had been hearing strange things in my head, having awful dreams. I had been sleeping, until I had heard those words in my head. Perhaps it was because of the closeness to the war. I didn't dare tell anyone about these things; the vampires had special powers, and they would say that one of them was trying to coerce me.

The vampires have been at war with the humans --and werewolves-- for decades, they say. One month ago, I had been a student at a girls' boarding school at one of the small hidden towns in the south, training to be a seamstress. One month ago, on a stroll by the sea I had refused to go on, my mother had mysteriously disappeared. One month ago, I believed I was plain old Bella Swan, a village girl with no intent in life.

My father is King Charles. He sent my mother and I away to the south to for protection from the vampires, who would come and try to kill me while I was still young. Ever king before him had done sent their sons and wives away, too. Their sons would come to live with their fathers when they came of age, eighteen. I say sons, because for the first time since the war started, a king had had a daughter.

I was the first Princess over the united humans. Father --always Charlie in my mind, though I dared not call him that in real life-- had scourged the south with half of his army, searching for the bloodless body of his wife. But she never turned up, and perhaps my mother had not been killed by the vampires.

But where had she gone?

I couldn't sleep any longer. I slid out of bed, finding my slippers and putting them on, and tapping over to peer out of my balcony. I was seventeen, a year younger than I should be to live in the castle, and Charlie was adamant about keeping me a secret. He had emptied an entire for me and a few discreet servants, and I had no freedom. Of course, he made sure I had everything. Everything but the freedom to run around. I glanced down at the courtyard five stories below, where a gate at the edge opened out to a path outside of the castle. Charlie had placed me at the side of the castle, where he thought that if anyone thought I should be here, they would not think I was so out in the open. Reverse psychology. And he never thought I'd try to go out, anyway.

But tonight, I saw, the guard was fast asleep, a bottle of beer half-drunk in his outstretched arm, his loud snores echoing around the courtyard. Normally, another guard was with him, but perhaps he was out partying for the victory at Greenwich yesterday. The humans and werewolves had overcome a coven of haywire vampires, and festivities had been going on since the morning. I glanced at the grandfather clock in my room. One A.M. Surely, I wouldn't be missed. I would just go out for a bit, and come back.

Charlie had never specifically told me not to go past the gate, anyway. And he was busy with the festivities, now. My maid, Priscilla, would surely be sleeping now. This was my only chance.

I stuffed pillows under the blankets, for chance somebody came to check on me, and shut the bedroom door behind me quietly. The lucky thing was that the stairs were all stone, and the only sound was the faint patting of my slippered feet on the brown marble as I flew down the five steps.I reached the ground floor, breathing in the fresh air as I tiptoed out onto the wet grass in the courtyard. Everyone was away at the festivities. Tonight was my only chance!

I tiptoed past the drunken guard, hoping he wouldn't wake up. If he did, I was surely done for. I had seen drunken men too many times at their worst. Slowly, fearfully, I pulled a ring of keys from night gown's pocket that I had procured from one of the spare room's Charlie had shown me when giving me a discreet tour of the castle when I first moved in. The keys tinkled softly, as I hoped one would fit in the gate.

It did. The lock creaked as I wrenched the door open, making a guttural sound as I pulled it a few inches so I could fit through. I glanced around, hoping no one had heard. I looked up at the watch towers; I had forgotten about them. But hopefully, they were busy. I shifted in the green, wet, grass, looking back at the drunk guard. He was still asleep. I'd tell Charlie to replace him tomorrow, if he was in a good enough mood. I glanced around. The castle was surrounded by a forest. I peered through, hoping if I could see anything in it. Maybe a clearing, or something. Or was this all silly, and I should just go back to my bed?

I walked closer, slowly to the forest. I had an odd feeling I was being watched, but vampires couldn't be in the forest. They weren't that silly. I walked closer, slowly, when I heard some distant yelling behind me. I glanced back at the gate, wondering if there was fight. Or, had the man realized the gate had been opened?

Fear chilled through my spine, and I looked back into the mesmerizing dark depths of the mass of trees. _Breath Bella...just hide in the forest for a while and no one will notice you're gone..._

"Hey!" I heard a man's voice behind me, and I glanced back. A soldier was running up to me. Peachy.

"Princess Isabella!" the soldier yelled again. He sounded young, but looked very tall, and was gasping for breath as he paused in front of me. I looked up at him. He _was _young, but very tall. His skin, in the moonlight, was still dark, mocha colored. He was a Quileute soldier. He stopped in front of me and grabbed my arm.

"It's not safe here!" He gasped. "What are you doing? Out here so late? His majesty will be most upset!"

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" I asked, horrified, as I followed the soldier up to the castle. The man shook his head, his long black hair swinging, still out of breath.

"No, Princess," the soldier said, "not unless you do it again."

"I won't," I murmured, not lying. I had that odd feeling like I was being watched. Paranoia? I glanced at the soldier, his face getting clearer as we reached the wrought iron gate. He was young, perhaps my age. "Vampires don't come this close, do they?"

"No, Princess," the soldier said. Under his stiff blue uniform, he was lean and muscular. "But we don't want to take chances. How did you get past, anyway."

"The guard is fast asleep," I said.

"Yes, but the gate is locked," the soldier noted, reaching the wrought iron gate and picking a key out of his pocket. "But...I guess you used Richard's key?"

"Uh...yeah," I lied. I wasn't good at lying at all, and was thankful for the dark night to mask my uneasiness. The soldier wrenched the door open, with some difficulty, and held it open for me.

"Thank you," I said, glancing back at me as he followed me, walking me up to my room, silently. "What is your name?" The soldier glanced at me.

"Jacob Black, Princess," he said.

"Oh," I said. "Then you are Billy's son?" I asked. I had met Billy on a walk with Charlie. Billy was tribe elder of the Quileutes, and a good friend of Charlie's. That would explain how Jacob had known who I was.

"Yeah," Jacob said.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Jacob said, with some hesitation. "All Quileute men start training early, and I have always wanted to be a soldier. But I do have fewer responsibilities and such." Fifteen. That explained why he was exempt from the festivities. The drinking age for soldiers was eighteen.

"Thank you, Jacob," I said, grasping his hand. We had stopped in front of my apartment rooms. Jacob bowed his head.

"My pleasure, Princess. Just don't try that again. I won't tell anybody, don't worry."

xXx

"Hello Gianna," Edward nodded respectfully to the Volturi court's receptionist as he entered the lobby. He must seem such a sight, his clothes ripped from hiding in the forest all night. Gianna smiled, her eyes weary in the darkness.

"Good evening, Edward. Is there anything I can get you?" Gianna asked him seductively. Edward curled his lip in distaste. Gianna was human, a traitor to his enemies. Pathetic, really. She wanted to become one of them.

"I want to speak with Aro," Edward said. "It is of immediate concern." Gianna looked up at him, surprised. Edward had hardly ever requested an immediate audience with the masters. He mostly refrained from speaking with them. Gianna nodded, walking back to behind her desk. The tall oak doors to the side flew open, and a thin, pale figure appeared.

"Evening, Edward," the brown haired, young male said smoothly. "Back so soon?" He asked, with a hint of anger, or displeasure. Edward grimaced; the Volturi were upset about yesterday's defeat, still. A nasty time to speak with them. But he had news.

"Alec," Edward, "I have news for Aro," he said urgently. Alec paused, noticing the urgence, playing with the fringe of his dark gray cloak, similar to Edward's.

"Come," he said beckoning to Edward, bidding him to follow. Edward followed Alec, and together they left the dim lobby, racing with vampire speed to the throne room below. Alec stopped in front the heavy oak doors, knocking twice, before they flew open, revealing three pale figures sitting on plain wood thrones. Aro, Marcus, and Caius. The nearest, Aro, stood up lithely off the throne and glided toward the two. Edward bowed, resting his knee of the dusty stone floor.

"Ah, Edward, you've _returned," _Aro said, looking at Edward curiously.

"Master," Edward murmured, standing up. "I have information worthy for you." Aro's attitude changing, his face lighting up in a smile.

"Excellent, my dear child, what is it?" Aro asked excitedly. Caius straightened up in his throne, staring at Edward intently. Marcus, unaware to everyone in the room, smiled.

"The king's heir has returned."

"Impossible!"

xXx

The barred gate clanged behind Edward as he discreetly tried to shut it in vain. _Damn these doors! _Surely, now, Demetri would know what he was up to, if he was alert. The Volturi kept an odd eye on him. They knew that he had once been closest to Carlisle. Once.

He had just finished speaking with Aro, who was now discussing with the other two on what to do. Edward glanced around the dungeon, scanning over the wretched, dirty inmates, looking for two familiar faces. He stepped over the filthy floor, his black boots clacking over the debris, his finger occasionally curling around one of the divising bars when he thought he recognized the one he was looking. Edward had not come to visit him since he had been locked up. Not once. Edward had lost count of the decades they hadn't spoken.

And then he spotted him. In the far corner of a cell, hunched up to his wife, Edward spotted him. A dirty blonde haired figure waiting patiently, smiling as he glanced up, seeing Edward walking up to him. A twinge of pain panged Edward's unbeating heart, but he pushed it away. How could the man smile when he saw him? How could the Volturi treat their "beloved friend" so harshly? But he couldn't question the masters...

"Edward," the figure said weakly, happiness evident in his voice, pain clanging through Edward's unbeating heart again. Happiness, even after everything Edward had done to him...

"Carlisle," Edward bent down to the bars, leveling him with his foster father. His voice cracked, and he desperately tried to hide the despair. Carlisle's hands grasped the bars, his fingers curling softly over Edward's. Instinctively, Edward wanted to draw away, but he didn't.

"How are you, my son?" Carlisle asked weakly, making Edward feel the odd pain in his stomach again. Edward nodded coldly, trying to hide his emotions.

"I am well," Edward paused, unsure how to say it. Carlisle smiled weakly, flooding Edward with unwanted sadness again.

"What is it, Edward?" Carlisle asked kindly. Behind him, Esme was staring intently at Edward, silent.

"Today...I ventured to the humans' territory..."

Carlisle frowned disapprovingly, making anger flashed through Edward for a second as he paused, trying to retain his anger. Carlisle was one of the vampires who hadn't wanted to be part of the war. Who had tried to stop it. That was why he and Esme were locked up here. The Volturi hadn't destroyed them in hope that their "beloved friend" would come to his senses. Wasn't he tired of being holed up in this filth? Nevertheless, Edward continued.

"There was a girl. I couldn't read her thoughts, Carlisle."

* * *

**So....how'd you like it? Review if you read it, even if you didn't like it. I love constructive criticism.**


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